Two dead, 11 injured in Batticaloa explosion

Rafik JALALDEEN

A Police Sergeant and a civilian were killed and 11 others injured including four schoolchildren, when a bicycle bomb exploded near the Batticaloa police station yesterday morning.

The bomb had been triggered off by suspected LTTE cadres during the morning rush hour around 7.00am in the Batticaloa town, close to the police station and patrol shed. Among the injured were a teacher and a police constable, police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera said.

He said a side charger was strapped into a push bicycle placed against the telephone box near the petrol shed. It was exploded using a remote control device.

The police sergeant had been identified as Anil Priyanka.

The wounded are being treated at the Batticaloa hospital, he added. Batticaloa police is investigating.